In Denial
by LianatheWingedDrummer16
Summary: He thought he saw something different in Ellie's eyes whenever he she looked at Clarke, but he never saw it when she looked at him. But Norton dismissed it. There was no way she could still love the engineer. One-sided Norton/Ellie, mainly Isaac/Ellie. *DS3 SPOILERS*


**My phone deleted this twice. Fucking twice! Right when I was getting into it, too... I apologize for any crappiness that this stupid bug may have done to my writing. Argh. **

**I wanted to write something from Norton's point of view on the love triangle. This has some indirect Norton-bashing... Enjoy. **

NORTON POV

He definitely wasn't in denial.

Neither was he jealous.

No, it was just that Clarke was too clearly infatuated with Ellie for Norton's liking, and Norton did not approve at all.

So when he had finally gotten to see Ellie again after the long time that they were apart, he had immediately run up to her and kissed her, just to show the engineer that he had no hold on her anymore.

The shocked look on Clarke's face when he had deduced that they were together gave Norton a sense of vindictive satisfaction. Ellie was his and his alone, since she had broken up with Clarke.

Norton also felt like laughing in malicious glee whenever he thought of how pissed off the engineer would get at his mentioning their old flame.

Which would not rekindle. Ever.

It was fucking ridiculous, it was. They were over, over and done with, and it was time for both of them to accept that. Ellie had chosen him, hadn't she? Didn't that just make it obvious that she was over the older man?

Actually, now that Norton thought about it, Ellie had also seemed affected by the way Clarke had blown her off, over and over again. Even though she refused to tell Norton what was going on inside that pretty head of hers, he could tell she was hurting inside, and she was acting somewhat different as well. Her eyes were looking down toward the ground more often than not, and she seemed much more easily distracted than usual. She also didn't talk much except to point out a new facet that would aid their mission, or to mumble something to herself under her breath. More than once it sounded like, "I'm sorry, Isaac. I'm sorry for everything."

It didn't make any sense to Norton. They had all come on the journey to end the Marker threat, not to try and get together again. Couldn't anybody here just learn to let go?

It was sickening, the feeling. The feeling that everything would fail just because Clarke couldn't give up the girl that was clearly over him, and that the mission would crumble to nothing but dust just because of their stupid love triangle.

'No. Not love triangle. Just me and Ellie.'

But Norton had his doubts about everything, too. A little voice in his head kept telling him that there was something up, that there was a distinct possibility that Ellie could still have feelings for the older man.

That voice was also the source of all the doubt and suspicion that plagued Norton, plagued him more than even the Markers.

He couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

His suspicion had taken root when Ellie had insisted that everyone stay on board the Roanoke while Clarke was deciphering the Marker script. Norton hadn't seen the point in this - Clarke had faced the Necromorphs more than once; he was experienced in handling the undead fuckers. Ellie had no reason to worry for him, so why did she sound so determined to wait for him?

It had been so irritating to the point that he had even opened up a video link to Clarke on a private channel, just to reaffirm that Ellie was over their ephemeral relationship and in love with him now. However, he still couldn't be sure.

But he had reassured himself, for however brief a time, that Ellie was merely concerned for the mission's safety. As much as Norton hated to admit it, Clarke was essential to the success of their journey.

His doubts had increased in their numbers over time, though. The next event that had triggered another wave of suspicion was after the shuttle had crashed onto Tau Volantis, and they had gotten separated from Clarke and Carver.

While everybody else was just about freezing their asses off, Ellie had practically forced them to wait when she was leaving a video log for Clarke, assuming he'd even survived. The panic that was so familiar to them all was obvious in her mismatched eyes, wide with fear and desperation. She'd pleaded for him to be alive and well, also saying that she'd left a trail of flares for them to follow. Norton had had to pull her away as she was finishing off the video log, snapping that if he was dead, he was dead, and nothing could be done about it.

And of course, Clarke had survived.

Norton couldn't deny it - he'd secretly been wishing that the bastard hadn't lived through the collision, even though that would have completely destroyed the purpose of their voyage to the obsolete planet.

Maybe, if Ellie didn't have an actual person to possibly still have an attachment to, she would have let go much more easily.

'Bullshit. What am I thinking? She doesn't love him, not at all.'

His mind was going in circles. He couldn't quite convince himself that she didn't have feelings for him still, and he was more frustrated than ever.

However, he had soothed his turbulent thoughts at the time by telling himself that Ellie was still merely concerned for the mission. Obviously, it was Clarke that was keeping them alive.

But he was also getting them into huge fucking trouble with Danik and the likes of his men. And if he still truly had feelings for Ellie (Norton hoped he did, just to figuratively stomp on his heart), what kind of monster would you be if you put your loved ones in danger? That definitely wasn't lover behavior.

As much as he wanted to forget everything, Norton kept remembering the next incident that had added another thorn in his side. It was possibly the worst one.

When Clarke and Carver had reunited with the remainder of their team at the research facility, Ellie had greeted Isaac with a genuine hug and a softly spoken, "Isaac. You made it."

There was no denying that Norton was openly surprised to hear her speak like that. She had never used that tone of voice, that relieved air, the almost palpable aura of - dared he say it? - love when she was speaking to him. It pissed him off, set off the angry green monster in his chest, and he'd sneered, "Glad to see you made it. Maybe we should, you know, give you guys some time alone."

Ellie's shock was evident when she turned back to him, demanding, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? We need him."

"We need him, or you need him?" Norton had retorted, furious. The whole thing had quickly escalated until Norton found himself standing face-to-face with Clarke, the two of them completely ready for a fistfight if it came to that.

Ellie had intervened, stepping between them and pushing them apart, claiming that there was no need to fight. In all reality, Norton really could have used a good beat-up just to ease some of the tension roiling inside his body.

When he'd finally stepped back, one of their team members had said that there were more important things to do, like finding the Marker signals, and he'd brushed past Clarke forcefully, muttering about getting a change of scenery.

He was so fucking frustrated with everything at that point that he'd trapped Clarke in the elevator and told him that he was taking over as the mission leader right then and there. His intention was to save Ellie, and Clarke wouldn't be the one to help her out of this mess. He would have no part in Norton's plan.

It wasn't just Norton feeling annoyed by the two of them. Carver had said that after the crash, when they were trying to regroup with the rest of them, that they had come upon the remains of the other half of the shuttle. Clarke had yelled Ellie's name several times, apparently in a panic, and he'd even confided in Carver that Ellie was all he had left. Even if she was no longer his.

But it had all gone wrong from there.

In exchange for them all to be allowed to return home safely, Norton had made a deal with Danik that involved Clarke being handed over to the Unitologists. They were all supposed to be able to go back to Earth, which was his goal from the beginning, but here he was, completely at the mercy of the very man he'd made the deal with.

He never thought it would have ended this way, but he was just about to get shot by the craziest Unitologist he'd ever met.

Norton shut his eyes, waiting for the final shot that would end his life. 'Bye, Ellie. Don't make the wrong choice-'

There was a loud yell that disturbed his despairing thoughts, and he looked up to see Isaac tackle the lead fanatic to the ground, in essence saving Norton's life. The rest of Danik's group let go of their hostages in an effort to regain control and save Danik.

Norton took his opportunity and scrambled away from the soldier who had held him captive, watching as Clarke quickly got rid of him.

'Dammit, the bastard saved my life. Does this mean I owe him big?'

He had no time to dwell on it. The disbanded group of soldiers began opening fire at them, and Norton was forced to pull out his own gun and start shooting at them. More arrived, thanks to the large shuttle that had landed and dropped them off.

In front of him, Clarke was sheltering behind a storage container. Norton stared at the engineer in dislike, slightly irritated with the way that his thoughts were getting in the way of more important things. He raised his gun, debating whether or not he would end the problem, right there and then.

And if they lived to tell the tale, Clarke would probably go and tell Ellie that he had betrayed them, and then everything would go to shit.

Norton couldn't let that happen.

He raised his gun yet again and aimed for the engineer's head.

A terrifyingly loud roar echoed from behind them, and Norton turned to see the Nexus, flailing about like a whale on the surface of an ocean. It reared up for just a moment, then disappeared beyond the edge of the cliff where he could no longer see it.

He stood stock-still, terrified, completely forgetting about Clarke. Never in his life had he seen something that large and hostile, and worse - it was moving.

He was thrown to the icy ground as Carver and Clarke shoved him behind a column of ice, telling him to get moving and stop staring at... at whatever the hell that thing was.

Around them, the Unitologist men had stopped firing at his team. They were all scrambling on the ground, attempting to get away from the huge Necromorph that was about to kill them all.

Norton frowned. Something wasn't right... The men weren't getting to cover, even though it was obvious that they were trying. Their arms were flailing and her they weren't going anywhere.

No. They were going backwards.

'Fuck! The Nexus is sucking them all in!'

Desperately, Norton grabbed at the chunk of ice in front of him, willing himself to stay alive. Most of the men were pulled straight into the creature's body, where he could see several glowing bulbs, colored a toxic yellow.

He watched, awed and horrified, as Clarke and Carver were pulled over to the Nexus by the sheer force of suction. They managed to slide to a stop as the beast stopped the flow of air coming into its system. It stalled menacingly, then raised its front limbs and began smashing the ground around Clarke.

Unsure of what to do, Norton remained hidden, watching as the monster landed a blow directly on top of Clarke. He didn't know if he was pleased or horrified - Clarke's health bar was now red.

However, the engineer rolled to his feet, then began dodging the fiery red pustules that the freakishly large beast was firing at him. They lodged themselves in the ground, then burst as shadowy black shapes climbed out of them.

Then the Nexus pulled itself up even further, exposing a pod of the yellow weak points as the standard-sized Necromorphs began swarming Clarke.

'Hmm... Maybe I should go and help instead of cowering back here.'

Norton frowned and shook his head. No, he wouldn't. Clarke didn't need help anyways - he'd already dispatched them and was firing again at the Nexus. Plus, Ellie needed him alive. He wouldn't be able to support her as a dead man.

There it was again, that damn doubt. Why couldn't he just settle it in his head, once and for all? It was obvious that Ellie was in love with him, even if she looked at Clarke with something else in her eyes and not him-

'Shut the fuck up!'

He was talking to himself again.

Focusing on the scene before him, he once again watched the engineer tumble to the ground as the Nexus dropped down, making the ground shake.

Then it opened its mouth, the enormous inhale audible as a deep rushing noise. Clarke was sliding towards it yet again, shooting the yellow pods around its mouth in an attempt to stay alive.

The Nexus swallowed the engineer, and for a moment, Norton thought he was gone for sure.

Then it spat Clarke back out, and he flew to the ground, yet again having to slide to a stop due to the enormous force behind the ejection. Smaller forms surrounded him as he grabbed his gun, and the whole tentacle-smashing bit happened again, followed by the pustule-ejecting and the air-sucking.

It was getting a little boring, Norton thought with a sneer. He hoped some different things would happen and perhaps entertain him a bit more.

He wondered if Ellie would be assisting Clarke at that moment.

'Goddammit, just shut up! Shut it!'

Internally growling, he returned his attention to the fierce battle raging before him. He watched, gaping, as Clarke was sucked into the beast once and for all.

'Ah, hell!'

If he was gone, what would he tell Ellie? Maybe it was for the best... If Clarke couldn't come back, then his betrayal would be kept a secret, and nobody would be the wiser.

Several minutes passed as Norton tried and failed to convince himself that Ellie loved him more than Clarke. That Clarke was nothing, not a threat to their relationship. That every time Norton had woken up while living with Ellie, he hadn't heard Ellie murmur Clarke's name in her sleep.

In front of him, the Nexus gurgled disgustingly and spewed out a fountain of fluid, bearing Clarke in its wake. Norton frowned and stepped forward from his hiding place, moving to the edge of the cliff where Carver was as well.

The ground rocked under them all, and the Nexus flailed one last time before slamming down onto the cliff and sending them all flying down to a hidden ledge below.

Norton thudded on the ground, losing his breath from the hard landing. He managed to stagger to his feet, and as he gazed at the man laying on the ground before him, catching his breath, he felt an inexplicable rage well up inside him.

He strode forward and kicked Clarke in the ribs, rolling the engineer over as he let out an enraged growl.

"You made us come down here! You encouraged her!" he shouted, waving his gun around in his fury. "Now look where we are. Between Danik shooting at us and... whatever the fuck that was, what chance have we got?"

Clarke looked up at him, incredulous. "You betrayed us!" he yelled back.

"No! I tried to save us! You are the real problem here, Clarke! But not anymore."

Norton stepped back as he raised his gun, completely intent on killing the bastard. It was all his fault, every bit of it.

Carver stepped forward, shouting, "Captain!"

Norton snapped at him, "Stand down, Sergeant!" Turning back to Clarke, he howled as he tried to get a bead on him, "This is all your fucking fault! She doesn't love you!"

He was tired, so very tired, of the doubt and insecurity churning through his body. So when Clarke pulled his own gun out in self-defense, Norton found himself almost willing to be shot, for all this suspicion and madness to end.

Because he was denying the truth.

And it could no longer be denied.

**I had so much fun writing this. Please review and tell me what you think! **


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